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Feast
of Tabernacles—Day 5, 2008
Fred
R. Coulter—October 18, 2008
So we’re already halfway through the Feast—we’ve had four days,
now we have another four days. And all of this is going to help us understand
even more the reason, the purpose of the Kingdom of God being set up by Jesus
Christ. Now, sometime ago, before the Feast, I was on a radio program with
Gianni Hayes and she had a man on there who was known as a Preterist, which
means he believes all prophecy has been fulfilled. Yet, strange enough they
still believe in Jesus because everyone goes to heaven. And I listened to him
for a whole hour and, I tell you, he twisted and turned the Scriptures so bad
that by time I got on for the second hour my brain was nearly numb. So Gianni
asked me, she says, "Well, what do you think?" And originally she had asked me
to come on for two hours and debate him. I said, "No, I don’t want to debate.
I’ll listen to the first hour and then I’ll answer." So, I said, "Well, let’s
look at a couple of Scriptures which pertains right to the Feast of Tabernacles
and the setting up of the Kingdom of God."
So let’s come to Daniel, the second chapter—and in the new Bible
that’s pg. 852, and by the way, I hope you’re enjoying your new Bibles. It’s the
best we could do, the first pass through, and I’m sure you’ll find a mistake
here and there, but that’s the nature of it. Just let us know and we hope that
we go through the first edition pretty rapidly and get the second edition out
with all of the corrections on it.
So let’s come to Daniel 2:40—now this becomes very important in
the flow of things and how it happens at the end. "And the fourth kingdom shall
be as strong as iron, forasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and beats down
all things, and as the iron that crushes all these, shall it break in pieces and
crush. And whereas you saw the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay and part of
iron, the kingdom shall be divided…. [And as we have mentioned, the ten
toes are undoubtedly ten regions in the world at the end-time. And
this is how it’s eventually going to be enforced. It will look like a movement
of the people from beneath, as Rev. 13 shows, but what comes out of it is the
same old satanic system.] (v 42): …But there shall be in it the strength of the
iron, because you saw the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of
the feet were part of iron and part of clay, so the kingdom shall
be partly strong and partly broken" (vs 40-42).
Now, if you look at it on a world view and think of a
re-organized U.N., which they are going to do, I’m absolutely convinced--this
describes it perfectly. There are strong nations. There are weak nations. It is
held together and then sort of comes apart a little bit and then comes back
together. But just like iron and clay, cannot cleave to each other—they have
their problems.
Now, v 43: "And whereas you saw iron mixed with miry clay, they
shall mix themselves with the seed of men…. [So we have a great interracial
marriage thing that’s taking place today, more than ever before, on a worldwide
basis.] …But they shall not cling to one another, even as iron does not combine
with clay…. [Now here is the Scripture that I read, and I said: "Has this
happened?" So for those who believe in preterism—that everything’s already done,
the resurrection has occurred, all prophecies are fulfilled—then here’s what we
should see or have experienced and witnessed. And you can’t find this any place
in the history of mankind]: …And in the days of these kings, the God of heaven
shall set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed…. [Question: Are we
under the Kingdom of God today? Has Jesus come and fulfilled all the prophets
and set up the Kingdom beginning in about 100 AD? The answer is: No way!]
…And the kingdom shall not be left to other people… [Question: Do the saints
rule? No!] …but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms,
and it shall stand forever" (vs 43-44).
Now, we don’t have any eternal kingdoms set up on the earth.
That’s why we keep the Feast of Tabernacles, because this is a portrayal of it.
And as defined, as we’ve seen in Rev. 20, the thousand-year period.
Now, let’s read v 45: "Because you saw that the stone was cut
out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the
brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold, the great God has made known to the
king [Nebuchadnezzar] what shall come to pass hereafter. And the dream is
certain, and its interpretation is sure." Now, let’s understand: ‘come to
pass hereafter’ does not tell us how long in the future this will be. But we
know for sure, absolutely, unequivocally, this part of this prophecy has
not been fulfilled.
Now, let’s look at another one here in Daniel, the seventh
chapter—very similar to it. It talks about giving the Kingdom to the saints. And
it talks about the end-time Beast Power, which rules the whole world. So you
have to combine this with Rev. 13, Rev. 17; other places in the Old Testament
and New Testament. Now here isn’t it interesting, Daniel 7:23 (pg. 859)—and this
relates right back to Daniel 2. We started out with the fourth kingdom, so here
it says: Daniel 7:23: "Thus he said, ‘The fourth beast shall be the fourth
kingdom upon earth… [Now this is a worldwide, world-ruling kingdom] …which shall
be different from all the other kingdoms and shall devour the whole
earth… [So we’re talking about world-government—and obviously, that has not
yet happened, and therefore the return of Christ and the Kingdom of God has not
happened either. So if you just believe the Bible for what it says, and
understand it without twisting the Scriptures to make it fit a preconceived
notion, so you can have a pet little theory and do away with the Word of God. If
you believe what the Bible says, this obviously hasn’t happened.] …and shall
devour the whole earth and shall trample it and break it in pieces. And
the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise. And
another shall arise after them. And he shall be different from the first, and he
shall subdue three kings’" (vs 23-24). Well, it’s not time to go through the
obvious particulars of this, but we haven’t yet seen that happen in the
end-time.
Verse 25: "‘And he shall speak words against the Most High…
[And that ties in with 2-Thess. 2 and Rev. 13—and yet, this man said this has
already all happened. Well, pray tell, get a history book, show us, show us that
we may believe. If not, maybe you ought to change your mind and think about what
God has said.] …and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to
change the set times and the laws…. [Now that has happened back in the history
of the Church and it’s going to happen again at the end.] …And they shall be
given into his hand until a time and times and one-half time…. [And there we go,
the 3-1/2 years that we’ve covered, at the end.] …But the judgment shall sit…
[means Christ will return] …and his dominion shall be taken away to be
consumed and to be destroyed unto the end [of that kingdom]. And the kingdom and
dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven… [And this
tells us why we’re here] …shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most
High… [and it says in Dan. 2, it’s not going to be given to other people.]
…Whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. And all kingdoms shall serve
and obey Him’" (vs 25-27). So obviously this has not happened. We can also
tie-in a couple of others from Isaiah 2 that all nations are going to come up to
Jerusalem to learn of God’s ways. And those who don’t God is going to deal
with them until they do! So it hasn’t happened yet.
Now, let’s understand something concerning the Bible that is
really, really important. Now last year at the Feast of Tabernacles, we went
through the whole book of Isaiah to do an overview of the Kingdom of God in the
book of Isaiah. Now this year we’re going to do something else that is similar.
We’re going to go through many parts of the book of Psalms. And we are going to
see
about the
Kingdom of God;
how Christ
is going to return;
how He is
going to destroy the enemy;
how He’s
going to set up an everlasting kingdom.
And in the book of Psalms we’re going to see a little different
application because these then become personal things that we will experience as
differentiated seeing the whole picture of it and where do we fit in and what
can we expect.
Now, let’s also see something else that is important. Let’s come
to Psalm, the first chapter. We’ll begin with the first Psalm; this is going to
tell us a lot. And as we go through, I’m going to refer to several things
without necessarily turning to the Scriptures, but we know that Jesus said: "I
am the Beginning and the Ending, the First and the Last." And as also in the
book of Revelation, where Jesus says this in chapter one and chapter twenty-one,
that it tells us that we need to look to the beginning of the Bible as well as
the end of the Bible in the book of Revelation and the rest of God’s Word is to
fit into that framework, based upon the Sabbath and the Holy Days—just like the
book that we have God’s Plan for Mankind Revealed by His Sabbath and Holy
Days. And we’ve also seen that there are patterns that took place from the
beginning where that the cherubim and the overshadowing of the Ark of the
Covenant within the tabernacle and the temple goes clear back to the east
entrance of the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve were kicked out. We also find
some things similar at the end. We also have the tree of life at the beginning,
and we have the tree of life at the ending.
So here, beginning in Psalm 1 we find how then we are going to
please God and, with conversion and change of heart, enter into the Kingdom of
God. But here it describes our personal relationship with God and our
differentiation from being part of the world—because Jesus said ‘though we live
in the world we are not part of the world,’ just as when Jesus was on the earth,
He was not part of the world.
Now let’s pick it up here in Psalm 1:1: "Blessed is the man who
does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the way of sinners, nor
sit in the seat of the scornful…. [We are called to be different from the world,
not part of it. And let’s understand something else that’s very important:
Though the Gospel has got to be preached in all the world, for a witness
to all nations, it is not an attempt by God to save the world. Because He
has to call those who repent and are baptized and receive the Spirit of God. And
they worship God ‘in spirit and in truth,’ which is far different from trying to
save the whole world.] (notice v 2—this is what happens to us when we are
converted and worship God is ‘spirit and truth’ and keep the laws and
commandments of God in spirit.): …But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and
in His law does he meditate day and night" (vs 1-2). Why? Because they’re
inscribed into his mind and into his heart.
"And he shall be like a tree planted by the streams of water…
[so we have the tree of life in Genesis; we have the tree of life in Revelation:
the first and the last. And we, if we yield to God and grow and
change and overcome and bring forth fruit, we are going to be like trees planted
by the streams of water—which in the case of the Holy Spirit is the living
water; which brings forth salvation unto eternal life.] (notice): …that
brings forth its fruit in its season… [we’re all to bring forth fruit. And we
find in the parable there in Matt. 13, that some bring 30-fold, some 60-fold,
some 100-fold; because it falls into fertile ground and is watered by the Holy
Spirit.] …and its leaf shall not wither, and all that he does shall prosper
[spiritually]" (v 3).
Now, we can also prosper physically. And, unfortunately, living
in the end-time when everyone has been prospered, especially in America, United
Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and northwestern Europe, they have all of these
goods and so it’s no surprise that we have a Laodicean church on hand, because
they think that their prosperity is a reflection of their conversion. But you
see, the use of the Spirit of God and yielding to God is a reflection of your
conversion, not your physical assets.
"The wicked are not so, but they are like chaff which the wind
drives away…. [Good expression of what’s going to happen to them.] …Therefore
the wicked shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of
the righteous; For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the
wicked shall perish" (vs 4-6). This is talking about our individual relationship
with God.
Now, let’s take a world view. Psalm 2 is a world view from God’s
point of view looking down on the earth. And every time we think: How much time
do we have left? Know this for sure: Just as every day comes and goes, so every
day we are closer to the Kingdom of God. But let’s also understand this: Because
we have lived in a time of peace and security and goods and things like
this—though we’ve had wars: WWI, WWII, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and now
the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and so forth—does not necessarily mean that the
end is about to take place in an imminent way, because many things have to
happen. But here is a good description of how the world today in coming to its
one-world government and its one-world rulership, and looking at things, this
gives us a good understanding of it.
Psalm 2:1: "Why do the nations rage and the people plot in
vain?" As I’ve mentioned recently, Satan loves do-gooders. And one of the great
do-gooder things that is going to happen, is that it’s going to be wonderful if
we have world government—and we divide it down into ten [transcriber’s
correction] regions. And we many not be too far from MexiAmeriCana in
North American. And the South American nations have already got some sort of the
near final beginning of a South American Union. So you tie that together with
all of the different regional unions that are taking place and we’re going to
end up with ten. Now let’s go on.
Verse 2: "The kings of the earth set themselves, and the
rulers take counsel together against the LORD and against His Christ… [it’s
going to be antichrist, and it’s going to be manifested in the great
world-leader (2 Thes. 2). What they want to do is get rid of God, get rid of
religion, get rid of morality, change the laws, change the times, and that’s
exactly what they are doing. Now, all of this summer, we have had vast forest
fires in California. And our wonderful governor ‘Heir’ Arnold Swartzneggar has
no idea that because the California Supreme Court sanctified marriage of
homosexuals—don’t you suppose that this is a warning from God because He’s not
happy with us? That He is angry with us? Now, God is not going to come down here
in person and do it Himself, and say, ‘Arnold, attention, seig hiel, look
what I’m going to do?’ No, He takes the weather. He sends a whole lot of
lightning—and almost all of northern California, much to the dismay of all of
the ‘greenie-greenies,’ is burning up! And the trees that they love to hug!
Well, now they can get in their better because a lot of the brush is burned out,
so send in all the tree-huggers out there to hug these poor, wounded, burned
trees. No, if you want to read the daily news from God’s point of view, read
Deut. 28 from beginning to end, all the way through. And there will be the
pattern, in the Bible, of the daily news against Israel and the world.
So here’s what they say: "‘Let us break Their bands asunder and
cast away Their cords from us.’…" (v 3). ‘We don’t want anything to do with God.
We don’t want anything to do with the Bible.’ That’s why they’re going to
picture us as nuts and kooks. Well, let’ me tell you another thing that is true:
Within the Church of God there are enough nuts and kooks who run cults that it
brings a bad name upon the Church of God. And you know that when the government
acts against all the cults—which they will do to bring everything under
control—they will also be swept into the net. So what we need to do is
have the
mind of Christ,
the
soundness of Scripture,
the
character and love of God,
because we’re not a cult! Some of the Churches of God
are!
Let’s go on, v 5: "Then He shall speak to them in His wrath…
[Rev. 16, the wrath of God] …and in His fury He terrifies them…. [Then He says,
this is the setting up of the Kingdom of God (v 6)—now notice how all of this
follows in sequence and helps give us some guidelines concerning other
prophecies]: …‘Yea, I have set My king upon My holy mountain of Zion. I will
declare the decree of the LORD. He has said to Me, "You are My Son; this day I
have begotten You…. [That goes back to the very begettal of Jesus with the
virgin Mary] …Ask of Me, and I shall give the nations for Your inheritance, and
the uttermost parts of the earth for Your possession…. [giving rulership and
kingship to Jesus] …You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them
in pieces like a potter’s vessel."’…. [Which is a really powerful song in The
Messiah by George Handle. Now here’s the message, all you rulers down here
on earth listen up]: …And now be wise, O kings; be admonished, O judges of the
earth. Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling….
[That’s what they’re going to have to do when Christ returns. There are going to
be some kings come up to Jerusalem and say, ‘Ohhhh, I repent. Here I am.’] …Kiss
the [King] Son, lest He be angry and you perish in the way, for His wrath can
flame up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in Him" (vs 5-12). And we
will notice this through the Psalms, all the way through the Psalms–our personal
relationship with God; the refuge that He gives us.
Now, let’s come to Psalm 118, and let’s see some very
interesting things concerning Christ and concerning the saints as it relates to
the Church and as it relates to the first coming of Christ and the setting up of
the Kingdom of God, and also the restoration of Israel. So there are many things
here in Psalm 118 that shows us
our
relationship with God,
the
salvation of Israel,
Christ Who
is going to be King, and sit on the throne and rule the world,
and our
relationship with God, how we’re going to get from here to there.
Now let’s begin right in Psalm 118:1: "O, give thanks to the
LORD, for He is good because His steadfast love endures forever…. [The word
‘mercy’ can also be translated steadfast love.] …Let Israel now say that
His steadfast love endures forever…. [Now, when are they going to say that?
After the 144,000 and great innumerable multitude are saved and they enter into
the Kingdom of God. And then physical Israel is brought back to its
inheritance of the land.] …Let the house of Aaron now say that His steadfast
love endures forever. Let those who fear the LORD now say that His steadfast
love endures forever" (vs 1-4). And that’s us.
In this life, as Jesus said, He told His disciples, ‘Be of good
courage.’ He said, ‘in the world you’re going to have tribulation, but be of
good courage, I’ve overcome the world.’ So this is why we have difficulties, we
have trials, we have stress, we have things that we go through; and all of these
things come about because of just living in the world and so that we can begin
to trust God more and more and more and more as every one of these things
transpires. Or we come to a trial. Or we come to a difficulty. And always
remember this: That God has said, through the apostle Paul, that "all things
work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His
purpose." So when you have a trial, when you have difficulty, when you have a
problem that comes along, what you need to do is yield yourself to God, which is
right here:
Verse 5: "I called upon the LORD in distress; the LORD answered
me, and set me in a large place." Now we also have to realize that in praying to
God and crying out to Him we need to realize this: God will answer that prayer
in His time, according to His will, according to His goodness—not on our time
schedule and what we think needs to be. And if God doesn’t answer us
immediately, we say, ‘Well, I wonder why God didn’t answer?’ Keep beseeching.
Keep asking God. He will answer and, over a course of time, you’re going to find
God will answer all your prayers, though the difficulties and strife you have
gone through, or went through, didn’t appear that it would come out that way.
But you see, remember this: It ain’t over till it’s over! Now especially in
baseball. And a famous baseball player said, "It ain’t over till it’s over!" And
there was a game, just recently, by a team who was behind five to nothing in the
ninth inning and they had hardly any hits and the pitching staff was really
doing well, so they came up in the ninth inning and guess what they did? They
scored six runs without an out to win the game. And all through eight and a half
innings, up to that point, it looked for sure that this is wipe out by the other
team. That’s a good example. It isn’t over till it’s over! God will hear and
answer you and "set you in a large place."
Verse 6: "The LORD is on my side… [Now, if we’re on God’s side,
He’s on our side.] …I will not fear. What can man do to me? The
LORD takes my part with those who help me; therefore I will see my desire upon
those who hate me…. [The enemy’s going to be defeated.] (v 8 is the middle verse
in the whole Bible Psa. 118:8—and notice what it says. This is how we get from
here to there in the Kingdom of God, when Christ returns.): …It is better to
trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the
LORD than to trust in princes" (vs 6-9).
Now, we can understand v 8 on a personal basis. But here’s the
one too many people really don’t understand. And the sum of this in today’s
language is this: you cannot solve spiritual problems by political means—who
the princes are the political power that is there, whether they are elected or
appointed or whatever. Almost any government: show me how the bureaucracy has
brought salvation and did the right things. So much for trusting in politics.
Now, this is from Christ’s point of view, as well as David’s:
"All the nations surround me, but in the name of the LORD I will destroy them….
[Doesn’t matter what the circumstances are.] …They surround me; yea, they
surround me, but in the name of the LORD I will destroy them. They surround me
like bees; they are extinguished like the fire of thorns, for in the name of the
LORD I will cut them off…. [So this also has to do with part of our fighting
when we come back with Christ, because remember, Jesus said, ‘If (to Pilate) My
kingdom were of this world then would My servants fight.’] …You have thrust hard
at me… [that is, the enemy] …so that I was falling, but the LORD helped me. The
LORD is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation. The voice of
rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous… [And we want to
dwell in the tabernacle of the Lord and in New Jerusalem. Rev. 20 & 21 talks
about that.] …the right hand of the LORD does mighty things. The right hand of
the LORD is exalted; the right hand of the LORD does valiantly" (vs 10-16).
Now, just take this: Whatever trial you may have, whatever
difficulty that you’re in, take this Psalm, because this is a Psalm on how to
grow and overcome and trust in God, so that you can be in the Kingdom of God.
"I shall not die, but live and declare the works of the LORD….
[That’s our ultimate goal in being priests and kings in the Kingdom of God.]
…The LORD has sorely chastened me; but He has not given me over to death…. [Now,
here’s a promise, v 19]: …Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go
through them, and I will praise the LORD…. [Now this has reference to Christ,
which we will see in Psa. 24 in just a little bit. And this has reference to us
entering into the Kingdom of God. And also it talks about the gates of
righteousness and where are the 12 gates—and the gates are like one pearl–New
Jerusalem So this gives entrance into New Jerusalem.] … I will go through them,
and I will praise the LORD. This is the gate of the LORD through which the
righteous shall enter. I will praise You, for You have heard me and have become
my salvation" (vs 17-21). Now it refers to Christ. This ties right in with Psa.
2, where they’re rejecting Christ; where they’re trying to ‘cut the bands
asunder’ and get away from Christ.
Verse 22: "The Stone which the builders refused… [And Jesus
quoted this, and so did Peter.] …has become the Head Stone of the corner…. [Now
in Jesus’ first coming, and in His ministry, all of the things that we have
covered here you can see apply. Now Jesus was totally yielded to God the Father
and the power of the Holy Spirit. He didn’t join the political realm. He didn’t
join the priesthood that was there. And He didn’t bring the Kingdom of God, as
they expected it at that time, in a political way to get rid of the Romans;
because God has a bigger plan. God has bigger thoughts. So the Jews, in looking
at Jesus, they rejected Him.] …This is from the LORD; it is marvelous in our
eyes. This is the day which the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in
it" (vs 22-24). The day of salvation for all of us, when we walk through that
gate in the resurrection and up on the Sea of Glass.
I tell you, once you really put the Scriptures together and
understand how they flow together, the Scriptures are overwhelming in their
meaning and depth of understanding, that ties the whole Bible together. And what
I entitled in one of the chapters here in the Bible commentary: The Unity of
Scripture—and the unity of Scripture shows that God is the same "yesterday,
today and forever" as Jesus said He was—and that "the Lord changes not." And
anything that appears to be a change is an improvement from the physical to the
spiritual—so it’s actually better.
"Save now, I beseech You, O LORD; O LORD, I beseech You, cause
us to prosper now. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD… [that was
said of Christ.] …we have blessed You out of the house of the LORD. God is the
LORD Who gives light to us. Bind the sacrifice with cords even unto the horns of
the altar. You are my God, and I will praise You; You are my God, I will exalt
You. Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures
forever" (vs 25-29).
Fantastic Psalm! And all of this applies to various aspects of
the Kingdom of God.
On a
personal level,
with Jesus
Christ,
with the
nations of the world,
and the
setting up of the Kingdom of God.
Now let’s come back here to Psalm 9. So I think you’re going to
find this quite interesting as we go through and if we put them together—because
every Feast of Tabernacles I like to bring something different, something
unique, rather than just preach exactly the same thing over and over again. And
the reason is because there’s so much in the Bible for us to learn that isn’t it
tremendous that every Feast of Tabernacles we can find something new to learn?
And about God’s way? And all of this, all of this reflects the eternal mind of
Christ in inspiring the Bible for us.
Now let’s pick it up here, Psalm 9:5 (pg 708)—here’s how it’s
going to be set up. Here’s Christ setting up the Kingdom of God: "You have
rebuked the nations… [all the way through the book of Revelation: 8, 9, 10 & 16]
…You have destroyed the wicked… [And the ones that end up in the lake of fire,
personally cast in by a special angel of God, is the beast and the false
prophet. Perfect example of what Jesus said: ‘Of what value is it if a man gain
the whole world, but lose his life?’ They’re going to rule and control the world
before Jesus returns. They’re going to lose their lives.] …You have put out
their name forever and ever. The enemy will come to an end forever, and You have
destroyed their cities; their remembrance will perish with them. But the LORD
shall endure forever; He has prepared His throne for judgment. And He shall
judge the world in righteousness; He shall judge the people in uprightness" (vs
5-8). That’s how the Kingdom of God is going to be established. And it’s going
to come with a force and power of God in a tremendous way.
Let’s come over here to vs 15-16: "The nations have sunk down in
the grave that they made; their foot is caught in the net which they hid. The
LORD is known. He has executed judgment; the wicked are snared in the work of
their own hands." Remember that. Take some of these as promises that you can use
to help you through your difficult times. And know that Christ is going to come
and set up His kingdom.
Now, let’s come over here to Psalm 15—this one here is strictly
a Psalm related to living in the tabernacle of God. So when I read this, just
remember Psalm 21: "Behold the tabernacle of God is with men." So who’s going to
get there? How are you going to enter into it? So here are some personal
qualifications. So let’s read them.
Psalm 15:1: "LORD, who shall dwell in Your tabernacle?" Who’s
going to make it into the Kingdom of God? Don’t we ask that all the time of
ourselves? Well, part of it is here.
…Who shall
dwell upon Your holy hill?" Now, it’s talking about those who are going
to serve Christ, in this particular case.
He who walks
uprightly…" (v 2) And how do you walk uprightly?
In spirit
and truth,
with the
Spirit of God,
Christ in
you,
the mind of
Christ.
And that you
have the Spirit of the Father as a begotten child of God.
"…and works
righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart" (v 2) You don’t say
one thing in a flattering, nice way to people and then in your mind
curse them. You speak the truth from the heart.
"He does not
slander with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor…" (v 3). ‘Love
your neighbor as yourself.’
"…nor takes
up a reproach against his neighbor." (v 3). Does not scheme against his
neighbor—all a part of the love of God.
"In whose
eyes a vile person is despised…" (v 4)—for their ungodly behavior.
"…but he
honors those who fear the LORD…" (v 4). Love the brethren as Christ has
loved us—right?
You see, all of these things are here. So as we’re going through
these, let’s put it all together.
"…but he
honors those who fear the LORD…" (v 4). Loving the brethren.
"…he who
swears to his own hurt and does not change it" (v 4)—which means, as
Jesus said in Matt. 6, ‘Don’t swear by yourself because you can’t make
one hair white or black, and you can’t add a cubit to your height’ but
He said, ‘Let your yes, be yes, and your no be no.’ There it is right
there.
"He who has
not put out his money at usury…" (v 5)—which is excessive interest.
Sounds like credit card companies, doesn’t it?—19-20 percent, plus
penalties.
"…nor has he
taken a bribe against the innocent" (v 5). All corporate ministers
listen up. Is your salary a bribe? Think about that.
"He who does
these things shall never be moved" (v 5). Isn’t that something? and
that’s a guarantee that we are going to have entrance into the Kingdom
of God.
The gate of righteousness is going to open and we are going to
enter in. And we are going to rule and reign with Christ. Now this is a
tremendous thing when we understand it and see that throughout the book of
Psalms. Now, we’re not going to cover every Psalm—I’ll leave that to you for
your personal study. But as you do, with some of these things as a springboard
and guideline, you’re going to see how much there is about the Kingdom of God in
the book of Psalms.
(go to the next track)
Now let’s continue on with day 5. Let’s come to Psalm 23—now
here’s a Psalm that even the world has memorized. Certain parts of it they may
understand, but let’s look at from the point of view of the Kingdom of God. How
does it relate to the Kingdom of God and our being in it, our part in it? Christ
is the one Who is the King, so forth.
Psalm 23: 1: "The LORD is my Shepherd; I shall not want…. [and
that means you will not lack anything. That doesn’t mean physically, that
means spiritually.] …He makes me to lie down in green pastures…
[Now we have seen in Ezek. 34 good pasture comes from God and from God’s Word as
led by Christ. So this is what it’s talking about.] …He leads me beside the
still waters…. [Now isn’t that interesting: the waters that are comforting, the
waters that are soothing. Whereas we started out that we’re like a tree planted
by the streams of water. Now here it is, rest and peace, still waters.]
…He restores my soul… [Which is a type of the resurrection.] …He leads me in the
paths of righteousness for His name’s sake" (vs 1-3).
The thing is, all the growing and grace and knowledge and
understanding and all of these things, brethren, are so important because they
are what? They are the creation of God that He is working within you!
And that’s what God wants. That’s why we pointed out, is just like the
potter and the clay. And he wants it so he can mold it, he can shape it, and he
can make it to whatever beautiful design that he desires. And when it’s done,
baked in an oven so that it is permanent. Many analogies that we can draw here.
Even though we have trials, v 4: "Yea, though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death… [and every one of us are going to come there. And
that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to have many trials leading to death.
There’re going to be times when you may even think death is better than life.
But that doesn’t necessarily mean that it is. However, all of us are going to
come to the ‘valley of the shadow of our death’ as we continue to go down in
time. And God harvests all the saints one-by-one who are, what we will call
‘senior citizens’—and I’m part of that group now, too. Because by time you are
hearing this video, I’ll be 74. Whatever time I have left I want to do it in
serving God—just like you do. And we’re all going to have a ‘valley of the
shadow of death’ that we’re going to go through. However, remember this]: …I
will fear no evil, for You are with me… [And remember, God the Father and
Jesus Christ dwell in us, which is another type, as we have seen, of the Kingdom
of God—God dwelling in us.] …Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me." We can
lean on God for strength and a staff to guide us as a shepherd does—they
comfort me.
And here’s the irony of the whole thing—here’s what God is
doing. Apply this to Christ and His life. Apply this to your life and your
relationship with God. And sooner or later you will see this happen, v 5: "You
prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies…. [And there isn’t a thing
they can do about it. And that table is eating of the Word of God, living of the
Word of God, being fed spiritually, as it is here in ‘green pastures.’] …You
anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over…. [And there’s the ultimate goal. So
we see all the things in life squeezed together in this one short, little Psalm,
that even the world has memorized—but doesn’t know its meaning.] …Surely
goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in
the house of the LORD forever" (vs 5-6). Behold the tabernacle of God is
with men, and He shall dwell with them, and they shall be His people.
Now let’s come right on to Psalm 24. Now we read about the
"gates of righteousness" in Psa. 118. Now here it expands it a little further.
But also it shows the greatness and the glory of God. Psalm 24:1: "The earth is
the LORD’S, and the fullness of it, the world, and those who dwell in it… [Every
one of us have life and breath and live, whether called or uncalled, and God
provides in His love for all. He owns it all.] …For He has founded it upon the
seas and established it upon the waters…. [Then it blends right in to the
fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles.] …Who shall ascend into the hill of the
LORD? Or who shall stand in His holy place?" (vs 1-3).
Hold your place here and let’s come to Isaiah—you go backward in
the new Bible—chapter 4, and we’ll talk about the temple of the Lord. Last year
I did a whole sermon on what will the temple be like during the Millennium. And
so, if you don’t have that you can write in for it and we’ll send you the Feast
sermons from last year, on CD for you.
Isaiah 4:2 (pg. 506): "In that day shall the Branch of the LORD
be beautiful and glorious… [and of course, Christ is that Branch—comes out of
the root of David.] …and the fruit of the earth excellent and comely for those
who are the survivors of Israel…. [That’s physical Israel. Can also apply to us
who will then be spiritual Israel.] …And it shall come to pass that he who is
left in Zion, and he who remains in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even
everyone who is written unto life in Jerusalem… [Now that’s being recorded in
the book of life.] …When the LORD shall have washed away the filth of the
daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from its midst
by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning…. [That means when
Christ returns He’s going to completely cleanse the whole area where the temple
is going to be during the Millennium.] …And the LORD will create over every
dwelling place of Mount Zion, and over her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day,
and the shining of a flaming fire by night… [So it’s going to be a great
expansion of what the children of Israel saw when God led them in the wilderness
with the cloud by day and the fire by night. This shows that God is dwelling
there. It’s not going to be some building that’s going to be built. He
is making it spiritually understood here.] …for over all the glory shall be
a canopy…. [Under that will be the true temple of Christ.] …And there shall be a
tabernacle for shade by day from the heat, and for refuge, and for shelter from
storm and rain" (vs 2-6).
In other words, the whole government of God is going to go out
under the auspices of where Christ is dwelling in Mt. Zion, in His temple, and
the government will go to the whole world. Isn’t that something!?
Now, let’s come back here to the book of Psalms, and let’s pick
it up here again in Psalm 24:3: "Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD?…
[Who’s going to be there? Well, we read that back in Psa. 15—so put that in your
margin, that’s part of it.] …Or who shall stand in His holy place? He who has
clean hands and a pure heart… [And that only comes from the washing of the water
of the Word—in our hearts and minds. And then being changed from flesh to spirit
at the resurrection.] …who has not lifted up his soul to vanity and has not
sworn deceitfully…. [And Christ never did that. And we are not to do that.] …He
shall receive the blessing from the LORD and righteousness from the God of his
salvation. This is the generation of those who seek Him, who seek Your face, O
God of Jacob. Selah" (vs 3-6).
And that’s what we are going to do spiritually, because Rev. 22
says that those who are saved are going to see the Father face-to-face. Now,
we’ll cover that on the Last Great Day. But think of all of these things when
you read the Psalms. This is why you learn so much from the Bible when you read
and study the Bible over and over and over again—and then you come back and you
go through it again and you bring all the other Scriptures and thoughts of the
Bible that pertain to it—and it gives you great, great understanding, doesn’t
it? And I think we’re going to be surprised how much the book of the Psalms
details much of the personal things that will happen to us and Christ during the
Millennium when the Kingdom of God is here.
Now v 7—this goes back to the resurrection of Christ and His
ascension into heaven. And here are the gates of righteousness that the Lord
will enter into, as we covered in Psa. 118: "Lift up your heads, O you gates;
and be lifted up, O you everlasting doors; that the King of glory may come in….
[Now, we’re going to be kings and priests, right? The gate is going to be opened
for us, too, isn’t it? Yes, indeed!] …Who is this King of glory? The LORD
strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle…. [Because He’s going to conquer
the whole world, isn’t He? Yes, indeed!] …Lift up your heads, O you
gates; lift them up, you everlasting doors; that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah" (vs
7-10).
And brethren, we’re going to share in His glory, share in
the rule, share in the wealth. It’s going to be absolutely fantastic!
And so, here all of these things are in the Psalms to help us understand the
Kingdom of God and our part in it.
Now, let’s come to Psalm 29. Now, we’re not going to go through
every Psalm because every Psalm does not depict things concerning the Kingdom of
God in the way that we’re doing here. We’re going through and picking out
selected ones, but there are many, many, many all the way through the book of
Psalms. So, I want you to do your reading and studying of the book of Psalms,
and from this point of view.
Psalm 29:1: "To the LORD, O you sons of the mighty, give to the
LORD glory and strength…. [Now let’s ask a question: We know how we worship God
now: basically in prayer and a direct relationship to God the Father and Jesus
Christ. How are we going to worship God when we are spirit beings? This gives us
a little clue]: …give to the LORD glory and strength. Give to the LORD the glory
due to His name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness" (vs
1-2). So there’s going to be a very powerful, absolutely wonderful worship of
God that we will have, called: ‘the beauty of holiness.’ We’re going to
be spirit beings and beautified and glorified. We are going to see Jesus Christ
face-to-face. We’re going to see God the Father face-to-face. And worship Them
in the ‘beauty of holiness.’ A kind of worship that is almost incredible
for us to try and describe, even though it’s written here, because it’s going to
be so fantastic! Because we will be spirit beings!
Verse 3: "The voice of the LORD is upon the waters; the God of
glory thunders; the LORD is above many waters. The voice of the LORD is
powerful, the voice of the LORD is full of majesty. The voice of the LORD breaks
the cedars; yea, the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon" (vs 3-5)—etc., etc. And
this is showing how He is going to establish the government on earth. It’s going
to be mighty, mighty, mighty convincing to the people, isn’t it? Yes! And
we’re going to have part of it. He’s going to give us a command and say, ‘Do
this, do that, do the other thing.’
Verse 7: "The voice of the LORD hews out flames of fire. The
voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; the LORD shakes the wilderness of
Kadesh. The voice of the LORD causes the does to give birth and strips the
forests bare; and in His temple everyone says ‘Glory!’ [to God.]" (vs 7-9). This
is how He’s going to establish the Kingdom of God. Pretty mighty and powerful,
isn’t it?
Now, let’s skip over to Psalm 45, and again, we’re going to see
the qualifications—the qualification for Jesus Christ Himself; and also the
qualification for us. So let’s begin right here in Psalm 45:1: "My heart is
overflowing with a goodly matter… [Just bursting out with joy and love and truth
and all of the good things.] …I speak of my works to the King; my tongue is the
pen of a ready writer…. [You’re going to know what to say.] …You are the fairest
of the children of men… [That’s referring to Christ.] …grace is poured upon Your
lips; therefore God has blessed You forever" (vs 1-2). This will also apply to
us.
Verse 3: "Gird Your sword upon Your thigh, O mighty one, with
Your glory and Your majesty. And ride prosperously in Your majesty because of
truth and meekness and righteousness; and Your right hand shall teach You
awesome things" (vs 3-4). This is how we’re going to administer the
Kingdom of God:
In truth,
in meekness
and
righteousness.
Teach this to the people.
Verse 6. "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever… [In Heb. 1,
this is said of Christ.] …the scepter of Your kingdom is a scepter of
righteousness." And that’s what’s going to make the government perfect
during the Millennium. But you have to translate this further into the Kingdom
of God and New Jerusalem forever and ever—which will be even more perfect,
because all who are there will be spirit beings. And it’s going to be absolutely
nothing like we comprehend things today. The way we’re going to understand that
is: let’s make it into the Kingdom of God and become spirit beings and we can
understand what’s going on.
Verse 7: "You love righteousness and hate wickedness… [or
iniquity—that’s the right kind of hate.] …therefore God, Your God… [Oh ho, it’s
talking about two Gods here in the Old Testament, isn’t it? Yes, indeed!]
…has anointed You with the oil of gladness above Your fellows." And Heb. 1
applies that personally to Jesus Christ. So this is telling us that there’s God
the Father and Jesus Christ. Hello! all of you trinity believers: where is God
the Spirit? Well, as you will see, the Bible doesn’t teach that at all.
Now, let’s go on—v 8: "All Your garments smell of myrrh, and
aloes and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, by which they have made You glad.
Kings’ daughters are among Your honorable women; on Your right hand stands the
queen in gold from Ophir" (vs 8-9). Now, I wonder who that is going to be? Do
you suppose that might be Mary, the one who gave birth to Jesus in the flesh?
Don’t know. We’ll just leave it at that.
Let’s go on to Psalm 46:4—here’s a very interesting Psalm. And
notice how this ties in with the other Scriptures that we’ve already covered.
"There is a river whose streams shall make the city of God rejoice… [New
Jerusalem] …the holiest place of the tabernacles of the Most High…. [And
remember: What comes out of the throne of God (Rev. 22) underneath it? Pure
water, clear as crystal! Signifying the power of God’s Holy Spirit,
constantly moving; constantly accomplishing what He desires. And it goes down in
a river, and on each side of the river are the trees of life, which bring their
fruit in their season. Amazing!] …God is in the midst of her; she shall not be
moved; God shall help her at the approach of the morning…. [Now then, here’s
what happens with the evil ones]: …The nations raged, the kingdoms were shaken;
He uttered His voice, the earth melted…. [That’s about the return of Christ, and
so forth.] …The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
Come, behold the works of the LORD who makes desolations upon the earth, Who
makes wars to cease to the ends of the earth…" (vs 4-9).
And remember, Rev. 19: only Christ can bring war in
righteousness and judgment. And only He can stop all wars and fightings. And if
we remember our history correctly, wasn’t WWI the war ‘to end all wars’? How did
we get WWII and the Korean War and the Vietnam War, etc., etc.? Because no
man can end wars. It’s in the evil nature of man to continuously plot and
scheme wars and destruction and devastation, because Satan is still the ‘god of
this world.’ And until the fulfillment of the Day of Atonement, that’s going to
happen until Christ returns, and He alone is going to end wars.
"…He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the
chariots in the fire. ‘Be still, and know that I am God! I will be praised among
the nations, I will be praised in the earth.’ The LORD of hosts is with us; the
God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah" (vs 9-11). Quite a Psalm, isn’t it? Notice
how that fits right in to the meaning of the Feast of Tabernacles and the
Kingdom of God. Return of Christ, setting up of the Kingdom.
Now let’s come here to Psalm 48—again, another view of the
temple and Christ dwelling on earth. And also, we can project this forward to
the "new heavens and earth" and the "New Jerusalem." So you see, there are many
different things, which we can add to give us understanding of these Scriptures.
Psalm 48:1: "Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the
city of our God, in the mountain of His holiness…. [Where we are what? We’re
going to worship Him in the ‘beauty of holiness.’ A fantastic worship that
we will not experience until we’re a spirit [transcriber’s correction]
being.] …Beautiful for its elevation, the joy of the whole earth is mount Zion
on the sides of the north, the city of the great King" (vs 1-2).
So as we can piece this together, coming to Jerusalem during the
Millennium and all the sons of God will come there—human beings will be on the
outskirts of it. They will only come so far up to Jerusalem, and only come to
the base of Mt. Sion—just like it was when God came down to Mt. Sinai and gave
the Ten Commandments to the children of Israel, they couldn’t go up on the
mountain except the one that God chose: Moses, and then later He let the 70
elders of Israel and Nadab and Abihu and Joshua come up to a certain point. But
they couldn’t come up to see God—only Moses could. So likewise here, it’s going
to be the same thing. Only the spirit beings are going to be there and go up
directly to see God. Everybody else is going to be down here and will see us who
will represent God to them.
Let’s continue on: "…the joy of the whole earth is mount Zion on
the sides of the north, the city of the great King God is known in her palaces
for a refuge, For, lo, the kings were assembled; they passed by together" (vs
3-4). Who are going to be the kings and priests? We are. We’re going to
be assembled. I imagine we’re going to have regular meetings there at Jerusalem.
Now think about that!
All right, let’s come down here to v 8: "As we have heard, so we
have seen in the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God. God will
establish it forever." And how is He going to do this?
With His
love.
With His
truth.
With His
righteousness.
With His
meekness, etc.
Verse 9: "We have thought of Your lovingkindness, O God, in the
midst of Your temple…. [Now just think what it’s going to be like when we come
into the temple of God and worship God in spirit and in truth and in the
beauty of holiness; and contemplate His loving kindness, and His
greatness, and His goodness. That’s going to be something. I don’t know about
you, but I’m looking forward to that.] …According to Your name, O God, so is
Your praise to the ends of the earth. Your right hand is full of righteousness"
(vs 9-10). So there we have a Millennial setting!
Now let’s come to Psalm 49 [transcriber’s correction].
Now here is a good Psalm, almost the whole Psalm. I don’t know if we’ll go
through the whole thing of Psalm 49 or not. But it tells us an awful lot about
the different things concerning the Kingdom of God and what’s going to be going
on. Now, there’s not quite as much here as I figured, but let’s take the first
couple of verses and we’re going to see what’s going to be happening during the
Millennium.
Psalm 49:1: "Hear this, all you people; give ear… [that means
pay attention] all inhabitants of the world: Both low and high, rich and
poor together. My mouth shall speak of wisdom, and the thoughts of my heart
shall be of understanding" (vs 1-3). This is what we’re going to do for the
whole world. We’re going to bring them the knowledge of salvation. That’s why
the Feast of Tabernacles portrays the great harvest at the end of the year—of
everything, all kinds of fruits, all kinds of grains, all kinds of everything
that comes out of the ground. Because all of that pictures the harvest of what
God is going to do and how we’re going to take care of and teach it.
Let’s come over here to Psalm 50, now. There’s much more in
Psalm 50:1: "The mighty God, the LORD, has spoken and called the earth from the
rising of the sun to its going down…. [So there we are. That’s how it’s going to
happen.] …Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty… [Again, the temple of God.]
…God has shined forth. Our God shall come, and He shall not keep silent; a fire
shall devour before Him, and it shall be very tempestuous… [So again, it’s
talking about the return of Christ in order to establish what we read in vs 1 &
2] …all around Him. He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth,
so that He may judge His people… [Now the resurrection. And the Kingdom of God
cannot happen until the first resurrection takes place.] …‘Gather My saints unto
Me and those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.’… [Which is our
baptismal covenant death.] …And the heavens shall declare His righteousness, for
God Himself is judge" (vs 1-6). Boy, that’s tremendous. That shows how there’s
going to be rulership, through Christ and God and us, on the earth.
Now, let’s jump ahead to Psalm 65:1 (pg. 732): "Praise waits for
You, O God, in Zion… [How? Worshipping Him in the ‘beauty of holiness.’]
…and to You shall the vow be performed. O You Who hears prayer, unto You shall
all flesh come" (vs 1-2). Now, think about this from the perspective of all
people on earth during the Millennium. All their prayers will be heard and
answered. They will pray to God and we’ll be the ones who will answer. We’ll be
the ones who will teach them. We will be the ones to show them in the way that
they should walk, according to Isa. 30.
Now, notice v 4—it talks about the blessings that we are going
to receive because of this relationship to God: "Blessed is the one whom You
choose and cause to come near You, that he may dwell in Your courts; we shall be
satisfied with the goodness of Your house, even Your holy temple…. [Now this is
going to be a time of absolute incredible things to happen almost on a daily
basis.] …By awesome works in righteousness You will answer us, O God of our
salvation; You are the hope of all the ends of the earth and of those of the
distant sea. The mountains are established by Your strength; You are clothed
with power" (vs 4-6). So this is quite a great and tremendous thing, showing the
power of God continuously all during the Millennium. Now when we come to the
last day of the Feast, the seventh day of the Feast, then we will see how human
nature reacts to this. And because these things happen on a daily basis, they
become commonplace.
Let’s come now to the next one: Psalm 66:1: "Make a joyful noise
to God, all the earth." Now think about this: What’s going to happen every
Sabbath day? Where the day begins, then there are going to be assemblies. I
don’t know if we’re going to have what would be called Friday night services and
then services on the day portion of the Sabbath. But the whole day is going to
be devoted to God. And I think every Friday night it’s going to be devoted to
the family. That’s going to be a time of family worship and a family meal. And
then the people are going to get up Sabbath morning and go to wherever they’re
going to meet. And I think there will be literally churches on almost every
other corner. Because everyone is going to come together to worship God. And
everyone is going to come together to be taught of God. So don’t worry about
will there be enough room for me, or will I have a job. You’re going to have
plenty, plenty, plenty to do. And we are going to help in the worship of God. So
here it is: "Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth." So just think what it’s
going to be like. In every one of these churches, every Sabbath day, they are
going to be singing hymns to God.
Now put yourself kind of in a space capsule and think of it this
way: You’re looking down on the earth, and as the earth turns, these things
begin. And then you go around the whole earth for the beginning of the Sabbath,
and then you come around again and the whole day to complete the Sabbath day.
And all people everywhere in the world—from east to west, north to south—are
going to be worshipping God.
Verse 2: "Sing forth the honor of His name; make His praise
glorious. Say to God, "How awesome are Your works! Through the greatness of Your
power, Your enemies submit themselves in obedience to You" (vs
2-3). And we’re always going to look back. We’re always going to understand what
it was before the Kingdom of God was set up. We are going to know the true evil
that dwells in the hearts of men. And as we will also see, before the Millennium
begins or as it is beginning, God is going to change the nature of man from a
hostile carnality to a heart of flesh—not take away all carnality, but have it
modified so it’s not going to be as hard to qualify for salvation. Because after
all, they’re going to have an advantage that no one else has ever had. And that
is to live a life without any influence from Satan the devil or just grossly
over-evil people.
Now isn’t is something! Every human being on earth, because God
has put in the heart of man eternity. To think of things beyond themselves. And
to have a yearning for what is right, even though they do evil. Everyone wants
to have a perfect life, a perfect home, a perfect husband, a perfect wife,
perfect children, perfect government, perfect world. They will have it! And they
will also have the Spirit of God!
Verse 4: "All the earth shall worship You and shall sing praises
to You; they shall sing praises to Your name." What is going to be the greatest
work that’s going to be done? The character building in everyone to
qualify for salvation. That is going to be something! And how it is
going to be—as we will see—there’s going to come a time when a person lives
under the Kingdom of God, has been righteous, has worshipped God, has served
Him, has kept His commandments, and comes to the point in their lives of being
100 years old and then are we going to have on that Sabbath, are we going to
have a transformation service? Where the individuals who have qualified are
changed from flesh to spirit? Wouldn’t that be exciting? Isn’t that going to
give everyone inspiration and hope and understanding as to why they are here?
What God is doing? Absolutely! You think about that! Think about this in
relationship to what we’re reading here.
Verse 5: "Come and see the works of God; He is awesome in His
deeds toward the sons of men…. (v 7): …He rules by His power forever; His eyes
behold the nations; let not the rebellious exalt themselves…. [The rebellious
won’t be around during that time.] …O bless our God, O peoples, and make the
sound of His praise to be heard, He Who keeps us in life and does not
allow our feet to slide, For You have proved us, O God…. [Yes, there’s going to
be times of proving, isn’t there?] …You have tested us as silver is refined. You
have brought us into the net…" (vs 5, 7-11). Well, now he’s talking about other
things, so not every one of the verses blend right in together in a complete
story flow—because the Old Testament is "precept upon precept, line upon line,
here a little and there a little"—and that’s how we understand it.
So, we’ll pick this up tomorrow and we will finish the book of
Psalms and how it portrays the Kingdom of God, our part in it, God’s part in it,
and the way the people of the world will be living.
Scriptural References:
Daniel
2:40-45
Daniel
7:23-27
Psalm 1:1-6
Psalm 2:1-3,
5-12
Psalm
118:1-29
Psalm 9:5-8,
15-16
Psalm 15:1-5
Psalm 23:1-6
Psalm 24:1-3
Isaiah 4:2-6
Psalm
24:3-10
Psalm
29:1-5, 7-9
Psalm
45:1-4, 6-9
Psalm
46:4-11
Psalm
48:1-4, 8-10
Psalm 49:1-3
Psalm 50:1-6
Psalm
65:1-2, 4-6
Psalm
66:1-5, 7-11
Scriptures referenced, not quoted"
Revelation
13; 20
2
Thessalonians 2
Isaiah 2
Matthew 6;
13
Deuteronomy
28
Revelation
8; 9; 10; 16; 19; 21, 22
Psalm 21
Ezekiel 34
Hebrews 1
Isaiah 30
Also referenced:
Book:
God’s Plan for Mankind Revealed by the Sabbath and Holy Days
by Fred R. Coulter
Sermon:
What Will the Millennium Be Like
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